Arsenal v Chelsea: To hear Claudio Ranieri tell it, Chelsea have no sense of direction and hope to find the promised land through luck. That, of course, is not exactly the message he meant to convey, but he did safeguard a reputation for eccentricity when refusing to accept that a successful club limits itself to an established first XI and a small number of replacements.
"They say that's true," scoffed Ranieri, "but if it is true then why did Christopher Columbus look for India and find America? Why? He could have stayed at home." Maybe it is time, however, to fend off the Italian's seductively esoteric repartee. Ranieri could just be employing unorthodox means to deflect attention from Chelsea's ambitions.
With 20 points from eight fixtures to secure first place in the table, there has been an immediate award for Roman Abramovich's investment. The side nonetheless goes to Highbury today with Ranieri still claiming Chelsea are "not ready" yet.
Opponents are learning to brush aside the humility, and they hesitate to criticise the coach for his extreme system of squad rotation. Arsene Wenger is wry when asked if, with similar funds, he would pursue a comparable policy at Arsenal. "Give me the money first," he said, declining to elaborate.
The affluence of Chelsea continues to be a fixation long after it ought to have become a bore. The way in which those resources are used is as surprising as ever. Pavel Nedved, at 31, can have scarcely any resale value at all, but that may not deter Chelsea from spending £25 million to buy him. While at the other end of the age scale, there has been little effort to quell speculation they will offer Everton £35 million for 17-year-old Wayne Rooney.
The gossip preserves the mixture of fascination and horror that the football public feels for Chelsea's affairs, but there are quieter consequences of the Abramovich spree and Ranieri's team selections have some thought-provoking aspects.
Whether he intended them to, Marcel Desailly's comments once contributed to the theory that a former World Cup-winner, who has also collected the Champions League with two previous clubs, might be underwhelmed by some of the commonplace fixtures in the Premiership.
As it happens, the captain has not been in the line-up for the two recent away games at Middlesbrough and Birmingham City. Desailly does have a slight injury, which is expected to keep him out of the action at Highbury this afternoon, but it is also true that Ranieri is in a position to save him until the defender is in perfect condition.
Ranieri has changed attitudes as well as personnel, forcing those on Chelsea's books to struggle for selection as they never did before. The impact on the Premiership cannot be disregarded. Especially not by other managers.
"This game is very important," said Wenger, "because I am convinced Chelsea will be fighting for the championship.
"There is no debate about the quality of anybody they have signed. My players know what it means to be in a championship fight with a contender of Chelsea's potential. Last season we lost at Manchester United and drew with them at home and that cost us the championship. That's why we know this is a huge game."
While others look at Chelsea in wonderment, rivals are no longer in doubt about the serious threat they pose.
